Somnium Online

Mugged

Eric twitched. The air smelled like lavender, and sunshine, which meant...

"Back in the real world, huh." Eric groaned.

It was still just before sunrise, as winter crept ever closer the sun was beginning to set sooner, and ask for an additional five minutes before waking up.

It was Sunday, that wasn't interesting on it's own, but he had planned to go shopping today. He glanced over towards the bed, Elly was still soundly asleep.

Well, it's not like he had to wait for her before going. He Eric brushed his teeth quickly, his arm practically blurring. He checked his reflection in the mirror, and did his best to straighten out his hair.

After changing into a pair of athletic pants, and pulling a sweatshirt over his rumpled T shirt, he deemed himself appropriately dressed for an early morning grocery run.

The school provided meals, but Elizabeth ate like a horse, and Eric had quickly learned to buy some snacks or he'd have to put up with her complaints until the next meal.

He didn't really mind though, this gave him an excuse to get some excercise in. He had decided on a small convenience store approximately two kilometers away. If he took a small detour he could fit in five kilometers of jogging total.

It wasn't a great number, but it beat doing nothing all day. Eric waited until he was off school grounds, and checked the streets in both directions. Aside from the occasional car, it was perfectly quiet.

He took a deep breath, and started at a light jog, his breath clouding in the late October air.

At first his legs were on fire, he hadn't run like this in a few weeks, but he soon settled back into his old rhythms. His breathing became automatic, his arms and legs moved almost on their own he was in the zone.

He picked up the pace, his lungs tingled, and he quickly felt his body temperature rise. He took off his sweatshirt and knotted it around his waist without breaking his stride. Right he saw the convenience store just down the street, with a rush of adrenaline, he surged forwards at a dead sprint.

There was a crosswalk ahead, but Eric was going too fast to slow down. A car slammed its brakes, but judging by it's momentum Eric knew it would be too late.

He picked up his pace, and at the very last second vaulted into the air. He touched his hand to the car's roof, and  swung himself clear over it, he his the ground running.

The car's driver gaped at the young man who was quickly sprinting into the distance.

Eric grinned. Surprising people never got boring, and today was no exception.

He slowed to a jog, and stopped in front of the small store, his chest heaving. After a few deep breaths he settled down, and calmly walked inside.

Waving to the man at the cash register he browsed the aisles idly. He settled on a few bags of chips, and snagged a few candy bars before checking out.

The cashier eyed his purchases with a puzzled expression. It seemed a bit odd for a young man with Eric's build to be buying candy, but Eric just shrugged helplessly. "It's for a friend." He explained.

Tue cashier nodded thoughtfully, and handed Eric his change. Eric was out of the store, and back to jogging. The snacks bounced around as he jogged, but Eric needed to run off his energy.

He was frustrated beyond belief. He'd thought himself at the very least one of the best players in the game, if not the best.

But Shade had beaten him effortlessly, and without taking a single hit. Next time though, next time Eric would get him for sure.